Process fob treating proteinaceotjs



May 4,. 1954 L- w. RAINARD PROCESS FOR TREATING PROTEINACEOUS FIBERSOriginal Filed July 14, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l INlfENTOR. Zea W Baum/Y2 y4, 1954 L. w. RAINARD, Re. 23,824

PROCESS FOR TREATING PROTEINACEOUS FIBERS Original Filed July 14, 1948 2Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENTOR. .4 60 W Raf/1a rd Reiosued May 4, 1954 23,824PROCESS FOR TREATING PROTEINACEOUS FIBERS Leo W. Rainard, Nyack, N. Y.,assignor to Alexander Smith, Incorporated, a corporation of New YorkOriginal No. 2,575,837, Serial No. 38,657, J

'1 Claims.

Matter enclosed in heavy dated November 20, 1951. lily 14, 1948. forreissue November 19, 1952, Serial No.

Application 321,535

brackets I: appears in the original patent but forms no part of thisreissue specification; matter printed in italics indicates the additionsmade by reissue.

This invention relates to a method for improving the characteristics ofproteinaceous fibers, and more particularly to a method for impartin acontrolled crimp to wool and other naturally resilient proteinaceousfibers having similar characteristics.

An object of the invention is to provide a method for impartingcontrolled characteristics to proteinaceous fibers.

Another object is to provide a method for producing a fibercharacterized by a predominant, sharp, angular bend or crimp with theportions between bends substantially straight.

Another object is to provide a novel and improvedprocess for impartingan artificial crimp to wool fibers.

Another object is to provide a commercial process for improving theproperties of wool fibers and in particular for imparting apredetermined crimp to fibres which in their natural state do not havethe desired degree or crimp.

Another object is to provide a process of the above type in which thecrimp is permanently set into the fibers.

Another object is to provide a crimping process of the above type whichis adapted for use in conjunction with the usual processes forconverting stock wool into yarn.

Various otherobjects and advantages will be apparent as the nature ofthe invention is more fully disclosed.

It is known that certain wools, such as South American, New Zealand,Iceland, Leicester, and others are naturally less highly crimped thanwools from other localities and breeds and are less useful for manypurposes, such as for use as fabric pile. Also the lower grade portionsof fleece from blooded sheep are generally less highly crimped than thefiner fibers. The lack of crimp of such wools affects their tensilestrength, compressibility, resilience, crispness of fabrics made fromsuch wools, covering power and the processing, such as carding andspinning, and may determine the limiting fineness of the yarns spun'from these wools. The addition of crimp to such wools and to woolshigher than carpet grade, but lower than fine clothing grade, wouldincrease their usefulness.

The present invention provides for adding crimp to such wools and mayalso be used to improve the characteristics of the highly crimpednatural wools. The product obtained is uniform and predictable as tocharacteristics.

In accordance with one embodiment of this invention, the crimp isproduced mechanically by feeding the fibers between feed rolls into acrimping chamber which is maintained full of fibers under apredetermined back pressure. As the fibers are forced into the crimpingchamber, they are laid in a zig-zag form and are pressed to form sharpangular bends or crimps with intervening straight portions, the lengthof which depends upon several factors, such as the nature of thepretreatment and the pressure to which the fibers are subjected in thecrimping chamber.

The crimp is set by treatment with steam under controlled conditions oftime, temperature,

moisture and pH in the range below which the natural resilience of thefibers resists deformation and above which degradation occurs, the rethefibers are brought for the formalationship being such that to theplastic condition necessary tion of a permanent crimp.

The novel features which are characteristic of this invention will bebetter understood by referrin to the following description, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which a specific form ofcrimping apparatus has been set forth for purposes of illustration.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an apparatus embodying the presentinvention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

, Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section taken along the line 4-4 ofFig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the saddle.

Referring to the drawings more in detail, the crimper is shown ascomprising a frame l0 carrying a pair of feed rolls l I and I2 and driveshaft i3. The shaft i3 is journalled in the frame it] and carries asprocket M which is driven by a suitable power source, not shown, and apinion l5. The feed roll it is keyed to a shaft 16 journalled in bearingblocks ll fixed to the frame 10 and carrying a gear l8 meshing with thepinion l5. The feed roll I2 is keyed to a shaft 20 journalled in bearingblocks 2| which are slidable in the frame 10. The roll [2 is held inpressure engagement with the material fed between the rolls by springs22 seated around threaded rods 23 which bear against the bearing blocks2|. The rods 23 extend through a bracket 24 attached to the frame In andcarry nuts 25 and adjusting knobs 2B. The nuts 25 are held againstrotation by the frame 10. The springs 22 are seated between the nuts 25and the bracket 24 and their tension may be adjusted by means of theknobs 2B.

along the line The shaft carries a gear meshing with the gear It. Thegears I8 and 30 have teeth of sufficient depth to remain in meshthroughout the normal range of sliding movement of the shaft 20 duringthe operation of the crimper.

Positioned below the rolls II and I2 is a tube 33 having a conical bore34, forming a setting chamber. The tube 33 is attached to a saddle 35having a tapered central bore 36 forming a crimping chamber and having acurved upper surface 31 conforming .to the bight of'the rolls II and I2and machined to have a slight running clearance from the surface of therolls. The saddle 35 is formed with cars 40 which are attached to theframe I0 by bolts 4| and with a plurality of radial passages. 42 for theinjection of a setting agent into the crimping chamber. The radialpassages 42 communicate with an annular passage 43 in the saddle 85which is closed by a collar 44 to form an inlet manifold. The fluid issupplied to the annular passage 43 by a pipe 45 registering with a port46 in said collar.

At its lower end the tube 38 carries a. flanged extension 50 to which apair of brackets 5| are attached. A pair of doors 52 are hinged to thebrackets-5| by hinges 53 and are held closed against the tapered end 54of the extension 50 by weights 5 attached to arms 56 secured to thedoors.

In the operation of the crimper, the rolls II and I 2 are driven by anysuitable source of power and the fibers to be crimped are fed thereto,preferably in the form of a rope or a web. The fibers are held in thecrimping and setting chambers by the doors until they have been packedsuiliciently to force the doors slightly open against the force of theweights 55. The back pressure of the packed fibers causes the fibersbeing forced against the packed fibers .by the feed rolls to be foldedover in zig-zag crimps, the spacing of which depends upon the nature ofthe fibers-and the back pressure. 1

A setting agent, such as steam, is introduced through the pipe 45 andpassages 42 into the mass of packed fibers. Of course the area ofinjection maybe varied, but should be sumciently spaced below the top ofthe saddle 35 so that the mass of fibers forms a seal. The pressure ofthe steam and the tapered setting chamber help to overcome or reduce thefriction of the fibers against the walls and facilitate their passagethrough the setting chamber.-

In the present process, .the raw wool is first 4 of the bottom of thesetting chamber against the pressure exerted by the discharge doors 52.

The back pressure at the entrance of the crimping chamber controls thesize of the crimp, a higher pressure causing a finer crimp (more crimpsper inch) and vice versa.

For equilibrium conditions of moisture content and pH, the setting timevaries inversely with the temperature. For temperatures below 212 F.,hot water may be injected into the crimping and setting chambers and maycontain added chemicals to aid in producing a permanent set. For examplesuchsetting agents as thioglycolic acid and its salts, such as calciumor sodium thicglycolate, formaldehyde, a sulfoxylate formaldehyde, suchas zinc or sodium, and the like, may be used. At a temperature of 212 F.the maximum concentration of these agents before serious degradationoccurs is as follows:

Per cent weight of the wool Thioglycolic acid 3 Zinc sulfoxylateformaldehyde 5 Formaldehyde does not degrade the fibers and may be usedin commercially available concentrations.

For higher temperatures, steam under pressure may be used. The qualityof steam should be selected to cause the fibers to reach the desiredtemperature and moisture content. Due to the packing of the mass offibers, they are relatively impermeable to steam and steam pressuressuited to produce the desired high temperatures may be used.

The fibers may enter the crimper at a pH of 4.0 to 9.0. Steam may beinjected under conditions to raise the temperature of the fiberstobetween 212 F. and 300 F. and produce a moisture content in the fibersleaving the setting chamber of 20% to A higher moisture content is notdetrimental and may be desirable in certain instances. With a pH of 8.0to 9.0 a setting time of 60 to seconds at 240 F. to 250 F. is sufficientto produce a set that'will resist boiling for three minutes in water, ora minute dyeing cycle with little loss in crimp as evidenced byfrequency and amplitude determinations. With a pH of 4.0 to 4.5 at thesame temperature, a setting time of second to seconds is required toproduce the same resistance to loss of set. In general the setting timevaries inversely with the pH, the other opened, scoured, for examplewith soap and soda ash in several stages, then washed and dried in theusual manner to form stock wool. The securing and Washing may be carriedout under conditions to leave the stock wool with the desired pH forcrimping. This stock wool is fed directly at a uniform rate to the feedrolls II and I2 of the crimper through a suitable hopper or may be fedto a web-forming device such as a card and fed as a web or condensedinto a rope which is fed to the feed rolls I I and I2 as a sliver orslubbing. If a more uniform feed is required, the stock wool may bepicked and carded and condensed to a rope for the above purpose afterconditions being the same.

The crimped fibers emerge from the crimper in the form of a verycondensed tow or rope, which is easily opened and separated. It may thenbe carded, formed into a roving and spun in the usual manner.

The fiber thus crimped is sharp angular bends or characterized by crimpswhich may or may not be uniformly spaced, but are separated by may beused for pile and woven one or.more stages of carding. A uniformity in vpile made of this yarn has a relatively straight lengths of fiber. Itmay be spun into yarn and skein dyed or may be picked and stocked dyedin the usual manner.

The artificially crimped yarn above described into pile fabrics beenfound that greater covering power than uncrimped or naturally crimpedwool, is more uniform and has a greater wear resistance.

such as Axminster rugs. It has It. also makes available for such usewools which do not have sufiicient natural crimp for such purpose.

It is evident that the process may be varied as to the individual stepsand sequence and that changes and modifications may be made in theapparatus without departing. from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of imparting a permanent artificial crimp to textilefibers, which comprises gripping said fibers between closely spacedconveyor surfaces discharging into a substantially closed zone, andforcing the gripped fibers into said zone against the pressure of a massof fibers held compacted under pressure in said zone, said pressurebeing adapted to cause the fibers to be progressively folded over andcrimped as they are delivered from said conveyor surfaces, holding themass of crimped fibers compacted under a substantially constant pressureto retain the crimp therein, introducing a setting agent under pressureinto said zone, treating the mass While thus compacted with said settingagent under conditions to produce a permanent set of said crimp in saidfibers, and withdrawing the crimped fibers from said zone.

2. The method set forth in claim 1 in which the setting agent is steam.

3. The method set forth in claim 1 in which the setting agent is amember selectedfrom the group consisting of thioglycolic acid, athioglycolate, formaldehyde, and a sulfoxylate formaldehyde.

4. The method set forth in claim 1 in which the fibers are maintained insaid zone at a temperature of 212 F. to 300 F. and with a moisturecontent above 20% at the discharge point.

5. The method set forth in claim 4 in which the setting agent is steam.

6. An artificially crimped proteinaceous fiber having crimps separatedby relatively straight fiber lengths and obtained as a product of theprocess defined in claim 1.

7. The method of imparting a permanent artificial crimp to textilefibers, which comprises gripping said fibers between closely spacedconveyor surfaces discharging into a substantially closed zone, andforcing the gripped fibers into said zone against the pressure of a massof fibers held compacted under pressure in said zone, said pressurebeing adapted to cause the fibers to be progressively folded over andcrimped as they are delivered from said conveyor surfaces, holding themass of crimped fibers compacted under a substantially constant pressurethroughout their travel in said zone to retain the crimp therein, andheating the mass while thus compacted in said zone to a temperatureabove that at which the natural resilience of the fibers resistsdeformation and below that at which degradation occurs to bring thefibers to the plastic condition necessary to set said crimp.

References Cited in the file of this patent or the original patentUNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,186,229 Ray June 6, 19161,353,337 Gordon Sept. 21, 1920 1,719,899 Mudd July 9, 1929 2,043,586Kronheim June 9, 1936 2,139,543 Finlayson et al Dec. 6, 1938 2,156,723Esselman et al May 2, 1939 2,217,113 Hardy Oct. 8, 1940 2,300,791 LodgeNov. 3, 1942 2,311,174 Hitt Feb. 16, 1943 2,321,757 Lodge June 15, 19432,390,572 De Brabander Dec. 11, 1945 2,394,165 Getaz Feb. 5, 1946FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 338,269 Germany June 30, 1921

